Joke of the Year live on screens!

Jonathan Mbiriyamveka TV Column
The year 2013 is gone and one of my most dramatic event on television last year was on December 10 when the “fake” sign language interpreter named Thamsanqa Jantjie “fooled” the whole world. Quite honestly, the 34 year old lad did not only cause an uproar but also provided a hilarious script that could easily pass for a James Cameron or Quentin Tarantino classic blockbuster movie.

For some strange reasons renowned comedians in the likes of Trevor Noah and our very own Carl Joshua Ncube missed on that one.

In what appeared to be a Joke of the Year, deaf people who watched the Nelson Mandela memorial were bemused and shocked by the “fake” sign language interpreter’s gestures that “were unintelligible”.

Hundreds of people took to social media to express their anger at the interpreter’s gestures, and several deaf groups confirmed his signing did not reflect the comments being made to honour the anti-apartheid icon.

Among the first to express their dissatisfaction was Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the first deaf woman to be elected to the South African parliament, who tweeted that the signing was “rubbish,” adding: “He cannot sign. Please get him off.”

Paul Breckell, chief executive of the UK-based charity Action on Hearing Loss, told NBC News that: “We are shocked by the quality of sign language interpretation at Nelson Mandela’s memorial — if it could be called interpretation at all.”

He added that “the limited number of signs, the amount of repetition, lack of facial expressions and huge gaps in translation meant that deaf or hard of hearing people across the world were completely excluded from one of the biggest events in recent history.”

But the most dramatic part was that Jantjie stood feet away from world leaders including President Barack Obama.

And the script continued to unfolded with Jantjie checking into a psychiatric hospital and later claimed he might have suffered a schizophrenic attack in which he saw “angels” flying into the stadium.

It is my hope that we won’t be seeing any of the “angels” on our small screen whether ZBCTV or DStv.

On a different note, Big Brother fans are readying themselves for yet another edition of Big Brother Msanzi which premieres with a two hour launch on Sunday, 2 February starting at 7pm.

The show will be screened live 24/7 on channels 197 and 198 to DStv Premium and Compact audiences. As usual the show will be produced by Endemol South Africa.

We are still to get details of whether or not the Big Brother Africa will be held this year.

All that we know is that Lungile Radu will be the host and presenter of South Africa’s third Big Brother show. An actor and presenter, Radu rose to fame after he presented the popular programs “Kasi 101”, “O-Boma”, “Set It Off”, “Goal Diggerz” and “Shout it Out” on Channel O.
No stranger to reality TV though, the talented television professional previously hosted season 2 of “Fear Factor SA” and recently starred, in the aspirational “Forever Young” on Mzansi Magic, a program that he is also responsible for co-creating and developing.

Commenting on Lungile’s appointment as presenter for Big Brother Msanzi, M-Net director for local interest channels Yolisa Phahle said Radu was a natural choice.

“Lungile has grown as we have grown. From his first appearance on air to his most recent work, he’s a part of the M-Net family. What appealed to us is that he has the ability to engage with our audiences easily. They love his easy-going but polished demeanour, admire what he has achieved and aspire to his success.”

She adds, “We knew that whomever we chose would have to understand that this show comes with a huge amount of attention which means they would have to be comfortable being in the spotlight.

‘‘We knew that we needed to choose someone who was committed to this project, which is a 24/7 production requires its host to be well informed about day to day happenings, as well as positioned to offer unique insights to viewers about the game.”

If you loved the first season of Big Brother Msanzi you will certainly enjoy the new season.